IRONY DONE HERE

 

Irony Done Here. 

Created and performed by Shortis and Simpson. Sound engineer Bevan Noble. Smith’s Alternative. Smith’s Alternative. March 21-22 2026

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

Canberra’s supreme satirists have been serving up full platters of irony and swipes at the establishment for years. Shortis and Simpson’s latest offering is no exception. But there is a difference. Irony Done Here  is a retrospective look at the last 30 years of music and song that have delighted audiences. Musician and songwriter John Shortis has composed a litany of songs that have been sung by singer and choir leader Moya Simpson. They bristle with wit and mockery. Simpson sings with a cheeky sleight of the vocal chords, at times joined in by Shortis with his trademark grin that laughs at life’s foibles. There is no offense in the smile, only a delighted amusement at the silliness of human behaviour, political shenanigans and social issue absurdity.

 Shortis and Simpson’s satirical view of the satirized world is less glitzy or theatrical than Canberrans have been treated to in the Wharf Review. Theirs is a cabaret revue that hits its target to suit its particular audience or in many cases its requested commission. For example their political satire Sheet Dip with illustrated cartoons by former Canberra Times cartoonist Geoff Pryor grew out of Shortis’s research into the National Library’s archived collection of Sheet music as part of his Harold Wright Fellowship. It is this love of research and work with various cultural institutions that give Shortis and Simpson’s performances an integrity and intelligence that can too often be overlooked in favour of the snappy punch line. Their material is often carefully researched in collaborations with excellent playwrights like Graham Pitt (Stop Laughing It’s Serious) and John Romeril (Prime Time) Other collaborations include performances with artists like Margaret Roadnight and Peter J Casey. Shortis’s arrangements are appealing and catchy. Simpson’s singing shows her flexible range from Blues (Honey Bee Blues) to Rock. (Prime Time)  Her comedic skills are on show in abundance in her rendition of  a swipe at Kevin 07 set to Shortis’s changed lyrics of the G and S patter song from Pirates of Penzance. She fills Smith’s Alternative with laughter with her tongue in cheek spoonerisms (Learless Feader) inspired by America’s songsters of satire the Capital Steps. There are times, however, when Shortis and Simpson let their feelings be known with a gust of anger. The demise of Vivaldi, another of their various spiritual homes, gives rise to one number in their repertoire that doesn’t hold back, and Simpson gives full vent to F**k the ANU.

What makes Irony Done Here a must be revived show is not only its retrospective collection of Shortis and Simpson’s shows over the past thirty years but its nostalgic glimpse of the vast contribution that the duo has given to the Canberra community and the nation over the past thirty years since their car broke down in Bungendore and the rest is history. The title of the show reflects their quick wit when a next door neighbour’s sign Ironing Done Here inspired the title Irony Done Here. In the intimate setting of their spiritual home Smith’s Alternative the closing night audience was treated to a sentimental journey down the years from Simpson’s native England and Shortis’s work on TV jingles to a triumphant song writing and singing partnership that has cast a discerning eye on the funny side of history.

 

But wait! That’s not all! Simpson’s contribution to Dean Cameron’s lakeside event The Dreamkeeper gave rise to the creation of community choirs Can Belto and the Worldly Goods Choir. Shortis’s research into the collections of so many cultural institutions from yet another spiritual home the National Library to the CSIRO (Sounds of Science) have cast a satirical eye on our PMs from Edmund Barton to Tony Abbot on one hand and the behaviour of the pollinating honey bee on the other. Key moments in our nation’s history such as the Dismissal have been revealed through laughter and song and serious satire and Shortis and Simpson’s nostalgic retrospective is a vital account of the duo’s shows and accomplishments over the past decades.

Rumours of retirement appear somewhat overstated. Simpson suggests that Shortis’s brain will never stop whirling and there’s plenty a song still to be sung. I found Irony Done Here intriguing, informative and hugely entertaining in a charming and feel good way that had me laughing, thinking and humming along. I hope that the retrospective can be revived as a tribute to history and the many artists who have contributed to Shortis and Simpson’s journey over the past thirty years in Bungendore and nationwide. There’s no keeping a good duo down apparently and audiences can catch Shortis and Simpson's The World At Our Feet on this Friday at Ainslie Arts Centre with the Worldly Goods Choir and Liz Lea’s senior dance group GOLD. It will be a good opportunity to see irony done there.